


Sanctum

by sde001



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Doctor Strange (Comics), Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Ashido Mina is a Little Shit, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Conspiracy Theorist Todoroki Shouto, Deku wants to save everyone, Disabled Midoriya Izuku, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hagakure Tooru is a Good Friend, Hagakure Tooru is a Little Shit, Jirou Kyouka is a Good Friend, Like literally everyone, Magic-User Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Protective Hagakure Tooru, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Snarky Jirou Kyouka, Todoroki Shouto Needs a Hug, Uraraka Ochako is a Good Friend, but not for long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29070018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sde001/pseuds/sde001
Summary: The woman, radiating a special sort of gentleness that Izuku knew was there even without the assurance of her words, simply put a finger to his mouth, smiling slightly. Not the mocking smile or the pitying ones that he was used to, but something else that he wasn't familiar with at all."Shush, young one. It doesn't do you well for your spirit to dampen." recited the lady, her voice as calm as a breeze. "Perhaps you do truly believe you are broken. Still, your resilience is admirable. I've been speaking in riddles after all."Her lips quirked upwards, her smile widening as if she remembered something nostalgic from the past"And after all- the Sanctum is a place where we fix broken things. In fact, one of our most promising students was once just like you."The woman stretched out her hand and for a brief moment, Izuku swore her eyes glowed with weight and wisdom beyond his very comprehension."So, Izuku Midoriya- would you like to learn magic?"-At age 8, Midoriya Izuku loses the use of his legs.At age 10, he gives up on being a hero.Then, a single year later, he discovers a long forgotten sanctuary, and a spark ignites within him.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Hagakure Tooru & Midoriya Izuku, Hagakure Tooru/Todoroki Shouto, Jirou Kyouka & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Ancient One (Marvel), Midoriya Izuku & Everyone, Midoriya Izuku & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might, TO BE DETERMINED - Relationship, hidden pairings - Relationship
Comments: 34
Kudos: 135





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own MHA or Doctor Strange.

**July 4'th, 20XX**

**Aldera Elementary School**

* * *

"Stop it Kacchan!"

Izuku trembled in fear as he gazed upwards to look at his best friend, the blonde boy glaring back at him with a gaze that looked like it was ready to kill. Explosions popped out of his two hands, smoke rising from his palms.

It was terrifying. Still, Izuku stood his ground. After all, what kind of hero would he be-- no, what kind of _person_ would he be if he simply stood by and let something like this happen? Determination filling his body with adrenaline, he twisted his face into the best smile he could manage.

All Might smiled like that. And even though he would never be like All Might, never even be _close_ to All Might, he could at least try, right?

"I won't let you do this!" he yelled, the words coming out of his mouth without thinking. "This isn't what a hero would do-" ' _and you're going to be a great hero, Kacchan. But great heroes, heroes like All Might, they would never do something like this!'_

The explosive fist that met his gut cut off his speech mid sentence, and he flew upwards for a brief moment before landing back in the sand with a pathetic flop. ' _Ouch,'_ he immediately thought, followed by a wave of emotion that mixed both sadness and admiration.

_'Kacchan is so strong. But he's so mean as well to some others... I wish he wasn't so mean.'_

"Deku..." Kacchan muttered ominously. "I hate that smile you always do."

Sparks gathered in his friend's hand, and Izuku already knew what was going to happen next.

"It pisses me off!"

Kacchan threw his hand forward, and Izuku raised his hands to block. It ended up being useless though, as the fist broke through his weak guard and broke through towards his face, the explosion catching him point blank.

His face _burned_. It hurt so much.

But Kacchan wasn't done yet. His other palm sparking with fire and smoke, he threw his hand forward at Izuku's gut, unleashing the largest explosion Izuku had ever seen coming from the blonde boy. His eyes widened with awe at Kacchan's sheer _power_ with his quirk, but that awe was short lived as he found himself being flung backward.

And flung backward fast. Kacchan's form went from big to small at an alarming speed, and Izuku's mind worked overtime to try and find out just exactly _how_ much danger he was possibly in at the current moment.

Before he finished, the pole impacted with his back. A sickening cracking noise echoed across the playground as Izuku flopped down on the ground, his body burning with heat and pain- ' _Huh?_ '

He recoiled in shock.

His back didn't hurt. And neither did his legs, for that matter. ' _Shouldn't my back hurt more than anything after that?'_ he wondered. ' _That's not supposed to happen, right? Wait-'_ he gasped. ' _Could it be? Is this... Is this a qui_ -'

"Psh." Kacchan's voice interrupted. Izuku looked up at him, the boy staring down at him with mocking, almost pitying eyes. Izuku frowned. "Let's just leave. I don't wanna waste my time with extras like Deku here." said the blonde.

And with that, Kacchan and his group of friends left the playground, leaving behind Izuku and the boy on the ground, now standing up and preparing to leave. Before the boy left, he gazed at Izuku, still lying on the ground.

"I'm sorry," said the boy before he walked away.

Izuku's frown worsened. ' _No,_ ' he thought. ' _That's... Maybe I'm being too selfish but... But that's not what I wanted to hear.'_

It was amazing how much a reaction differed depending on whether he won or lost the fight, wasn't it? ' _I need to be powerful. I need to win if I want to hear what I want to hear. But how can someone like me do that? I'm... quirkless, after all-- unless I actually do have a quirk now?'_

His eyes lit up. ' _Right, I should probably go home now and think about this later. Maybe I can test out whatever this is later on. Maybe a pain resistance quirk? A defense quirk? Maybe my skin turns as hard as stone or something!'_

A smile now gracing his face, he finally tried to make the effort to stand upwards.

That was when he realized he couldn't feel his legs.

* * *

"He's paralyzed from the waist below." said the doctor, shattering his hopes and dreams with just a few words. Still, he couldn't deny the truth behind them. After all, he was sitting in a wheelchair right now, his legs completely unfeeling. "Now, he's lucky. If this was a hundred years ago, he would have to be restricted to a wheelchair forever. Thankfully our medical technology has evolved since then and he can probably retain his sense of movement at least to some degree."

The doctor gave both Izuku and his mother a moment to process the new information. But for Izuku, he didn't need any time to process things. It was yet another setback, yet another obstacle towards becoming a hero.

' _Still, I can try, right? I can... I can become a hero right? Like All Might?'_

Almost every part of his mind responded with a resounding no, save for a tiny corner of his mind that had sworn to never give up. ' _I can't think like this. I have to... I have to be stronger and more resilient. I still can be a hero._ '

He _had_ to believe it. After all, if he couldn't believe it, the game was over. His dreams would disappear, and he just couldn't afford to let them. ' _I'm sorry,_ ' he thought to no one in particular. ' _But I'm still going to try-- no, I'm **going** to become a hero. No matter what!'_

"I- Is there... Is there any chance, any at all for him to recover his sense of movement fully?" asked his mother. Izuku felt the urge to comfort her rush to the forefront of his mind, but he couldn't quite bring out the words to do it. His mouth felt sealed shut and his mind wasn't forming the right sentences.

"Look ma'am..." said the doctor. "I'm not gonna lie and say that it's impossible, because it's not. Our quirks are proof enough that miracles do happen, and I'm sure someone out there has recovered from this fully."

The doctor paused for effect.

"But," he said, "it's unlikely. Very unlikely. I wouldn't count on the chance, because life flies by quick and if you keep waiting for an opportunity for a miracle to happen, nothing's gonna happen at all and you're gonna have your life wasted."

He had a fair point. Izuku couldn't deny that. But still, something about the statement made him frown heavily, and he couldn't fathom what it was.

* * *

Physical therapy was good. Izuku had gotten used to not feeling his legs at all, but having that _feeling_ , as little as it was, return to his legs inch by inch was something that was wonderfully shocking every time he made progress.

And yes, progress was slow, but it was _there_. And he couldn't have been more thankful for that. Having the feeling in his legs cut off from his body... It was a sensation he had gotten accustomed to quickly, but having the feeling _back_ made him just appreciate it a whole lot more. Not having his legs felt like a part of him was taken away, even if he hadn't realized it until he had started to get that part back.

The nurse was super nice too. She was a lady named Ms. Hagakure and could turn various parts of her body into mirror surfaces. It was awesome, not really something that could compete well with quirks like Endeavor's or Best Jeanist's, but still _awesome_. Good enough to easily hold out as a support hero.

When Izuku had asked her on why she had never tried out for heroics, she had simply shrugged.

"Staying back and helping the people who need it is just as important as heroics work, right? I don't really like getting into fights, you know?" she had said, before grinning amusedly and poking his head. "Us doctors and nurses help people too, you know? You don't have to punch bad guys to do that."

Izuku had nodded his head then. "You're right, Ms. Hagakure." he had said. "Doctors and nurses are awesome as well!" And she had been correct. Heroes were important, but sometimes they didn't quite catch the villain quite in time, and sometimes people needed help beyond that. Technically, doctors and nurses were just as important as Heroes were.

Still, there was something _about_ being a Hero that he wanted to grasp onto. He wasn't sure what it was. On every objective level, being a doctor or a nurse would let him help and save just as many people. But he couldn't just _let go_ of his dream. He didn't know what it was yet, but there was _something_ about a Hero that just _called out_ to him.

He wondered what kind of person that made him.

Selfish was the first word that came to mind.

(Ms. Hagakure was also apparently 35, but Izuku didn't believe her. She looked _way younger_ than that.)

* * *

Izuku expected many things on the day he returned to Aldera. Kacchan's brutal anger and his flashy shows of strength, Shiki's mocking, and Tsubasa's showing off. What he _didn't_ expect was the complete silence that had descended the moment he had entered the class.

Everyone he knew, it was like their personalities had disappeared. Every time he interacted with someone, they would simply look away, or give him a gaze of pity. Even _Kacchan_ ignored him completely, which was just weird on so many levels.

It was somehow worse than Kacchan going after him and turning him into a punching bag. Izuku wasn't sure why.

He wasn't sure of many things at this point.

* * *

And then one day, Aldera changed for him. He had been sitting down for lunch, alone as usual, and _someone_ set their tray next to his. Izuku's eyes widened instantly as he gazed around, looking for a face. _'Who just...'_

And then he noticed a floating set of clothes next to him. _'Is she... invisible?'_

"Err, hi?" he greeted awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say.

"Hi!" the voice greeted back. "I'm Hagakure Tooru. You're Izuku, right? The boy that my mom met."

Izuku's eyes widened once more and his face lit up in a smile. "So you're Ms. Hagakure's daughter?" he asked. ' _Did she move close to Aldera or something? Last time I checked she lived pretty far away, although I do suppose it's been a while since I've talked to her...'_

"Yup!" said the girl, her voice concerningly bubbly. "I was looking for you, ya know? My mom told me about a nice green haired kid who would be a nice friend. But I looked for you and couldn't find you _anywhere_. I'm kinda bad at making new friends, so I followed my mom's advice this time."

Izuku frowned. "Why are you bad at making new friends? You seem like you would be great at making friends!" he said earnestly, genuinely curious at how such an extroverted and bubbly person could be bad at socializing. 

If Hagakure wasn't invisible, he was absolutely sure he would have seen her waving him off. "Oh, thanks." she said. "But I tend to kinda uhh, fade into the background, ya know? Because of my quirk and all. I don't do too well in groups in general, actually."

_'Ah.'_

"W- well, I can be your friend!" he declared, his brain to mouth filter suddenly gone. Immediately he descended into mumbles, his brain going into full panic. "Ofcourseit'sonlyifyouwannabefriendsIfullyunderstandifyoudon'tactuallywannabefriendswithmeBUTitwouldkindabereallynicetohavefriendsaswellbecauseI'mnotreallygoodatsocializingeitherand-"

A karate chop to his back reminded him to breathe.

"Gee, really went full slim shady there huh? Anyways, thanks! I guess we're friends now?" said Hagakure, before flushing. (At least he _thought_ it was flushing from the way her shoulders suddenly contracted) "Sorry for karate chopping you by the way, uhh, that was something I didn't really mean to do."

Izuku laughed. "It's fine, I probably needed that anyway. So uhh, friends?"

"Friends."

He beamed.

And then the lunch bell rang, Tooru left, and Izuku sat down in his seat for 3 good seconds as his epiphany finally hit him.

_'Holy shit I just talked to a girl.'_

* * *

Izuku gave up on his dream two years later. It wasn't an epiphany or a sudden _shift_ in his personality, though. His dream had been holding on by its last strands by then, a single thin string trying to hold up a boulder. It was bound not to last.

And one day, Izuku decided that it was simply best to try something else. Ms. Hagakure had been right. Doctors, nurses, policemen, there were so many jobs that helped society just like Heroes did. He was dreaming of something that he simply _couldn't be_.

One day, the string just snapped and the boulder fell.

Still, maybe it was for the best. Izuku found himself growing gradually happier as he studied to become a doctor, his lowered grades steadily growing further and further upwards as he engrossed himself with the sciences.

And it was _amazing_.

He had previously made a habit of analyzing quirks in his notebook, and it was something he still did for fun. But physics and chemistry and biology, it was like a whole new _world_ of knowledge had opened up for him, something just at his fingertips but something he had never bothered to reach for.

And every time he had to use his cane to walk, (so basically every step he took) he was reminded of his inadequacy and it only motivated him further. Maybe he wouldn't be a great hero like he had initially wanted, but he wouldn't let that get him down. He was going to help people still, and maybe he wouldn't be recognized for it, but that didn't matter. It had _never_ mattered to him.

Science being just phenomenally interesting was a bonus to that.

In the end, he was glad that he had given up on being a hero. He had opened his mind to a whole new world of fascinating knowledge, and he felt like he was actually making _progress_ every day. His mother grew visibly happier too, which was an added plus.

So every time a surge of regret, a surge of _what if_ erupted in his mind, he squashed it down, and squashed it down easily.

* * *

But just because a string snapped and fell down under pressure didn't mean the string was gone.

* * *

It had been a year since he had given up on his dream. During that time his life had improved drastically in pretty much all areas possible. Ms. Hagakure had been overjoyed to learn that he had shifted his dreams to becoming a health worker, and had given him a playful poke that made him almost too nostalgic. His walking with his cane improved. And he actually had a friend that liked his presence for the first time in years.

Kacchan was... an oddity. He would always consider an explosive blonde a friend personally, but that didn't mean he was foolish enough to believe that the boy actually enjoyed his presence. If he did, he had sure never expressed it.

He was... happy. He was sure that wanting to be a hero, maintaining that dream made him happy to some extent as well, but making progress towards his goals fulfilled him in a way that his old, broken down ideal had consistently failed to do so.

' _Really, I'm glad that-_ '

"Midori!" a voice interrupted his chain of thoughts. "Sorry but I have to go to the offices today. My mom says there's something related to some paperwork." yelled Hagakure from a distance. Izuku turned towards her and nodded.

"It's fine, I'll just walk back to the station by myself." he said. With Tooru and him using the same station to go back home, the two not being together on the walk back from school was somewhat of a rarity. Still, he didn't mind. It wasn't like Aldera was some crime ridden villain paradise.

And so he quickly stepped outside of the school waving a quirk goodbye to his friend before turning to the right and starting on the way home. By now, he'd gotten good enough with his cane that he could at least keep up with normal walking pace if he made the effort.

It was tiring as hell though so he usually just exchanged that slight bit of speed for avoiding exhaustion.

The path to the station was an old friend to him. 2 blocks, left turn, 3 blocks, right turn, and then straight ahead. The buildings that accompanied the path hadn't changed in 5 years, so every house, office and apartment had pretty much engrained its way into his memory.

Izuku paused.

' _Well..._ '

A building stood in front of him, with a large window shaped like a circle with intricate, strange looking designs. The building itself looked almost a hundred years old, made out of stone and wood that gave it almost a haunted house-ish feeling.

It was also a building he had never seen before. Ever. It wasn't like there was construction happening either, and this house was _old_. It looked older than the ages of every person in Aldera combined, teachers and staff included.

' _I probably shouldn't go in. I'm not Kacchan, and I don't even wanna be a hero anymore. This is reckless._ '

His curiosity surged and the safety mechanisms in his mind desperately worked to repress it. ' _There really shouldn't be a way to explain this building existing though. Seriously, how is it still standing? How did I walk from home to school a thousand times and never notice it?'_

He sighed. He had never been the best at repressing his interests.

Slowly but steadily, his body ignored his mind and walked towards the gate of the building, slowly opening the door with a loud creak. ' _Gee, this really is like some horror movie._ '

He turned back to look at the interior.

And he gasped.

' _This is... this is-_ '

It was _amazing._

Izuku had never seen a place that looked so phenomenally strange. It looked like a place cut out straight from history, like the architecture books he had once read. But there was a difference between looking at a picture and actually being there in real life. There was definitely a difference.

Unlike what the exterior seemed to suggest, the place was well lit and was filled with intricate and traditionally looking wooden furniture that gave the place an air of mysticism. It slightly reminded him of a place where monks would stay to study and train and pray.

But what would a place like that be doing close to Aldera? And why-

' _Why is there no one here?'_

Izuku paused. Despite the well managed and well lit interior, the place was completely empty of anyone except for him. "Hello?" he hesitantly yelled, his voice echoing through the hallway ahead. "Does anyone live here?"

He carefully took a step forward. And then another one. And then another one and another one until he was past the short hallway and into the main room, a place filled with incense pots and... cushions that looked a bit too comfy.

"Hello there."

Izuku jumped.

The voice chuckled, the distinctly female sounding voice filled with mirth. Izuku turned backwards to see a bald woman sitting on one of the cushions, adorned with yellow robes and a serene facial expression that looked halfway between sleeping and awake.

' _She's beautiful._ ' was the very first thought that his mind made. And it was true. Not in the way a pretty girl was beautiful, but in some other strange way. The woman had the same sort of beauty that grandparents and old men and women had, a special beauty that came with a certain degree of age and wisdom.

"Welcome to the Sanctum, young man. If I may ask, what is your name?" asked the lady.

"Mi- Midoriya Izuku." he replied. "Could I just ask... err... what is this place? Not that I'm tryingtoberudeoranythingbut-"

"This is the sanctum, Mr. Midoriya." she said, and somehow that seemed to explain _everything_. His soul seemed to reassure itself at those few words, even if his mind screamed out with a heightened sense of curiosity.

"I must say, fate seems rather adamant at bringing me students with broken bones and hand and legs. Not that that's a bad thing, but it is quite curious indeed." she said. "No matter. You may call me the Ancient One, and I can help you achieve your dreams."

"My dreams of... being a doctor?" Izuku asked, deciding to ignore that the woman called herself the _Ancient One_. His mind flashed with a brief bout of mirth. ' _Could this woman be some sort of... chuunibyou? She's way too authentic looking for that, though.'_

The Ancient One chuckled knowingly.

"No, of course not. Your _other_ dream is what I refer to, young man."

Something flared up in him. Something he _thought_ he had squashed down for good and had been all the happier for it. Unconsciously, he felt his hands close around to the shape of fists. "You... don't know what you're talking about. Sorry." he said. ' _How does she know that I used to wanna be-_ '

"Nonsense. If you simply wanted to be a doctor and nothing else, you wouldn't have been led here Mr. Midoriya." she said. "In fact, you're responding quite strangely. Usually people are more curious on how I know such personal details."

"Sorry." he apologized to no one in particular. "But I don't have that dream anymore. I..." he paused.

' _Why is it so hard to say it? I've said it almost a thousand times, both to myself and to others. Why is it so hard to say now? Why can't I speak? Why can't I-'_

"Even if I still have the dream..." he finally, reluctantly spit out, "It's impossible. I'm quirkless and disabled, there's no way I would ever become a her-OOOOOOOOOO-"

Izuku promptly screamed as he was _ripped out_ from his body. ' _HOLYMOLYWHATWHATWHAT'SHAPPENINGAHHHH'_

The whole ordeal lasted about three seconds before he was sucked back in. That was when he fell down. And then wheezed a little. And then wheezed a little more.

"Mr. Midoriya," said the Ancient One, who looked a whole lot more intimidating than before, "You have _no idea_ what's possible."

Her voice was filled with mirth.

Izuku's mind went into overdrive. "Is that your quirk? What is it called? What does it do? Is my health fine? Is my body and brain fine? Is that something you can do only to humans or to animals and maybe objects as-"

"It's not my quirk, Mr. Midoriya. No, it's something entirely different. Something you can learn."

He paused.

"What?" he whimpered out. "No, that's impossible." ' _She sounded convinced. She sounded like she was completely sure that she was speaking honestly. How could she sound so convinced? I'm quirkless, there's no way I can do anything like that...'_

"This is a skill that only a special sort can truly learn and master. That you were led to this place, Mr. Midoriya, speaks volumes of what you are capable of. If you simply believe in yourself, your potential is _limitless._ "

' _Why does she sound convinced? She has to be lying, right?'_

Izuku wanted to walk away. To never come back to this place. But something dangled in front of him, and kept him anchored to the spot. 

"I'm quirkless." he echoed again, his last defense crumbling just by how _earnest_ the woman sounded, her voice convincing _him_ as well, dangling a broken dream in front of him like a candy anchored to a string. "I'm quirkless, and I-"

The woman, radiating a special sort of gentleness that Izuku knew was there even without the assurance of her words, simply put a finger to his mouth, smiling slightly. Not the mocking smile or the pitying ones that he was used to, but something else that he wasn't familiar with at all.

"Shush, young one. It doesn't do you well for your spirit to dampen." recited the lady, her voice as calm as a breeze. "Perhaps you do truly believe you are broken. In fact, your resilience is admirable. I've been speaking in riddles after all."

Her lips quirked upwards, her smile widening as if she remembered something nostalgic from the past

"And after all- the Sanctum is a place where we fix broken things. In fact, one of our most promising students was once just like you."

The woman stretched out her hand and for a brief moment, Izuku swore her eyes glowed with weight and wisdom beyond his very comprehension.

"So, Izuku Midoriya- would you like to learn magic?"

* * *

When he was 10 years old, Izuku Midoriya gave up on being a hero. His final string- carrying a boulder of weight, simply decided to snap and let go, falling towards the ground.

But just because a string was broken didn't mean the string didn't exist anymore.

And the Ancient One had always had a knack for fixing broken things.


	2. Prologue (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second part of the prologue

"So, Izuku Midoriya- would you like to learn magic?"

Izuku drew in a sharp breath, a jolt of lightning running through his spine. Somehow, the short phrase conveyed _so much_ meaning in just 9 words. 9 words that threatened to bring back hopes and dreams that he knew he had let go of years ago. Dreams that he didn't need back. ' _Don't want, or don't need?'_ his mind immediately questioned.

' _What am I scared of?_ '

Fear rushed down his body, freezing his limbs in place and restraining him completely. _'This lady can't be serious. This is all just a result of a quirk, there's nothing magical about it. I'm sure.'_

Was he?

No, on second thought, he wasn't. He wasn't sure at all, and the thought sent a fresh wave of an unrecognizable emotion gurgling down his throat. ' _She sounds honest. I can't believe her though, right? I know science. I know that magic isn't real. Right? It can't be real, right?'_

So why was he so desperate to tell himself that? Where was the confidence in his views and beliefs that he had accumulated over hours upon hours of study? His quirk analysis and his scientific knowledge (as limited as it was, after all even with his enthusiasm he still wasn't close to a professional) were some of his only abilities he had real confidence in. He was _sure_ of the laws of energy and motion and gravity. He had gone through the agonizing process of building his knowledge up _properly_ from the first base forward, and he had felt the ecstasy as the puzzle pieces eventually _clicked_ together to create a final bigger picture.

Magic- _magic_! Magic was something that would end all of that. It threw everything he knew into a wall, shattering it completely. ' _But I've let that already happen, haven't I? I'm trying to desperately tell myself that she isn't being honest! I wouldn't even have to try that unless...'_

_'Unless I actually believed her.'_

Nope! Nope nope nope a thousand times. He needed to get out. He would get out, and then he would-

His legs wouldn't move. ' _Well, at least it's a pretty harmless way to make sure I know how much I'm in denial.'_

Right. He was in denial. Denial because he was telling himself that _magic wasn't real._ A fairy tale concept was now responsible for causing a logical disconnect between his logic and emotion. ' _Why did I ever think that coming to a creepy run down building was a good idea?'_ he whined, the last embers of his will to conflict the new _world_ being presented in front of him slowly dissipating.

' _Why do I believe her?'_ he questioned. ' _Everything she's telling me violates all I know about the world, so why is she so easy to believe?'_

There was something there, dangling just beyond his grasp. ' _The feeling! The feeling of being detatched from my body. Something about that... it was different. I have no idea how, but I just **know** it's something that's there...'_

' _That thing... whatever that woman did, that didn't feel like a quirk. I'm sure it wasn't a quirk. There's something about it that I can't quite place my finger on, but I'm sure that it was... different.'_

God, he was really going crazy wasn't he? Narrowing his eyes, Izuku desperately tried to recall the sensation that had spread throughout his body during the time the Ancient One had separated his body from what he assumed was something akin to his consciousness. Still, he couldn't call it back. It dangled in front of him, just beyond his reach but he couldn't just quite grasp the feeling.

In front of him, the woman sat patiently, both calming and frustrating him with her presence. She looked calm. Almost too calm for the sheer insanity that he had just witnessed. ' _Except she's completely used to that, isn't she? This is all probably as simple as breakfast and dinner to her. I'm completely in the dust, despite the fact that I assumed I actually knew things!'_

This was bad. On one hand, his curiosity bubbled up and cheered at the prospect of _magic_ being real. A whole new world of things to discover, things that had been hiding from the vast majority of the world but had been _there_ all along. Just the concept of magic was mind baffling to him, but it brought up questions that begged him to answer them. It felt as if the world had gotten so much larger, and he had finally stepped outside of the boundary, the _crossing point_ that left him giddy with excitement. On the other hand, magic was... magic was going to be like a _quirk_.

That brought up problems.

It was too close to comfort to his old dream. To magically manifest a quirk, to gain _power_ and to become a hero. He had let go of that dream for good reason, and assuming that the lady was being honest, learning _magic_ like the woman had just performed on him would come awfully close to bringing that dream back.

He couldn't afford to grind that particular stone again. It brought up too many questions that he had _avoided_ by changing his dream to a doctor. Questions he didn't want answered. ' _That's what I'm afraid of, isn't it? That one question keeps haunting me even after years and years of trying to get rid of the fact that I don't have an answer for it.'_

_'_ _Why do I want to be a hero?'_

He felt like the answer to that question would be much more unsavory than what he had initially estimated. It was hypocritical of him to think in such a way- after all, he still idolized and admired All Might and other heroes that saved the day when people were in trouble. He sure idolized them more than he idolized whoever the greatest doctor in the world was. ' _But respecting heroes is different than putting them on a pedestal, right? And still, even if it makes me a hypocrite, something about that question haunting me for so many years... it leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth, doesn't it?'_

He sank his fingernails into his palm, clenching his fists. He had gone through this thought process before. The line of thinking was almost tedious with how many times he had tried repeating it, only to land himself on the same conclusion, over and over again. Even if that conclusion left a bitter aftertaste.

' _I want to change.'_ he decided. ' _Maybe by the end of this I'll still be on my way to being a doctor, but still, I don't want to avoid the question anymore. It's taunted me for way too long.'_

And someone was dangling the key right in front of him. The key to a _chance_ , an opportunity for him to find his answers. ' _What makes a hero? Why did I- no, why do I want to become one so badly? What is that thing I can't just grasp about being a hero that I loved as a child so much?'_

A familiar flame erupted within his mind. Although he wasn't sure whether he had missed it or not, it felt like part of him had _returned_ , a part of his soul that had desperately been trying to claw its way back to the handlebar despite falling further and further away. Except this time, a helping hand had pushed it upwards.

No, he was sure that he would never be able to avoid heroics. Whether or not he wanted to be a hero, the concept- the _ideal_. Something about it had transplanted itself into his mind the moment he had seen All Might save thousands of civilians from a collapsing disaster.

Whether he was a doctor or a quirkless kid chasing after fantasies, that core part of his identity wasn't something he could avoid anymore. Not after today.

"Learning magic..." he began to ask, a strange jittery feeling crawling up his neck at the prospect of just the _idea_ of what his question entailed, "w- would it fix my legs?"

The Ancient One nodded, looking as sagely as ever. "I've had quite a few students come to me in search of healing. The Mystic Arts all depend upon intent. Upon the union between body, mind and spirit. When your mind is opened to the horizons of possibility, and your spirit, broken down, restores its pieces together-"

"- the body heals as well," Izuku whispered to himself, completing the woman's words. Somehow, that made perfect sense. ' _Wait, is this some weird mental manipulation quirk? It couldn't be, right?'_ he pondered. From literally everything he knew about himself and the world, none of that statement should have made sense. And yet the pieces seemed to simply _click_ together with a sense of genuine understanding.

"If your belief in magic is still up in the air, perhaps I could give you a demonstration. To, cleanse the plate, or so to say." said the Ancient One. "In fact- it seems rather like a tradition to do this for our most successful pupils. After all, in many ways the most stubborn of men still do have the greatest of wills."

Izuku nodded, and in an instant, fluid motion that had began and concluded before he could blink, the Ancient One's hand was on his chest. Her expression, usually serene and calming, almost seemed like it was filled with mirth. Izuku wasn't sure what he was supposed to make of that.

"Enjoy your trip." said the sorcerer.

And by the end of the hour, Izuku Midoriya _believed._

* * *

"Hey, Izuku," a familiar voice called out from the distance. "Ya hear me?"

' _If I really go through with this, there's a chance I'll have made my bed. I might not be able to turn back from this, not just because of my constraints in knowledge, but also because I might not be able to get myself to turn back. Am I really going to proceed with-'_

"Izu? Midori?"

' _Actually now that I think about it, couldn't I apply whatever I learn with magic to science as well? If magic can do whatever the Ancient One did to me, then it could be used for Therapeutic purposes as well, right? And if it can heal my leg, then it could make all sorts of new advancements in medical fie-'_

He felt a poke to his cheek snap him from his train of thought, looking to the right to see his invisible friend that he could now instinctively tell was slightly annoyed. Although he couldn't read Tooru's facial expressions, there was certainly a... method to read her body language once you knew her well enough.

"Sorry Tooru, just thinking about some things," he apologized sheepishly. "I had a really weird experience on the way home yesterday. It's been stuck on my mind for a while now."

"Huh," replied the invisible girl, briefly going into thought before giggling. "Don't worry, if I was bothered by the muttering, I wouldn't be friends with you by now. Anyways, I need to ask you, since you're so interested in quirks. Do you think there's any way my quirk could be used in heroics?"

"You want to go into heroics?" Izuku instantly lit up, grinning. "That's awesome, Tooru! But what made you wanna go there?"

Tooru shrugged, or at least it _looked like_ she shrugged. "Dunno. It's just cool, you know? You get to help out people, and I can actually make use of my quirk! It's always been a bit of a hindrance, you know? I feel like being a Hero might actually make my skills useful."

' _So she wants to make use of the skills she's been born with. That's definitely a much more solid reason than what I have right now. And she's only just now begun to want to be a Hero!'_

Despite his line of thought giving him a rather downtrodden rush of inadequacy, Izuku still grinned, the genuine happiness he felt for his friend winning out easily. He had been rather afraid for the last few months, considering how much Tooru had been completely confused on _what_ she planned to do after Junior High. "I'm glad, Tooru, really. Wait, I never actually shared my notes on your quirk with you, right?"

"Huh?" Tooru piped up, "Yeah, now that I think about it you've never shown me what's in that notebook of yours. I always wondered what you were scribbling down, but never got to asking."

In reality, he had deliberated showing his notes to his friend multiple times in the past, but had decided to not go along with it. Tooru was great, but he hadn't _quite_ ready to share his private notes like that. It was irrational, but those notes quite literally held figments of his childhood in their pages, starting from crayon sketches to finely drawn and organized notes.

Now though, he had a reason to finally go along with it. Somehow, it didn't bother him at all. ' _Maybe I was fine with doing this all along, huh? I wonder what other realizations there are to make this week...'_

Distantly, the school bell started to ring, signaling the end of break. Izuku immediately piped up and picked up his cane, positioning himself to walk back to class. "Meet me at home later today, I'll text you!" he called out before limping back to homeroom, a seeming weight lifted off of his chest.

* * *

"So err..." he started, "Is there a step by step guide to this?"

The Ancient One flashed him an amused smile. "There are many variations of magic that permeate the world, young one. The type we will be learning is something called Eldritch Magic." she said. "The key, in a way, to harnessing the magical energies to heal yourself is intent."

"Intent?" Izuku asked. "Like if I will my legs to get fixed, they'll immediately get better?"

"That is a condensed explanation, but yes." said the Ancient One, "technically you are correct. In reality, the process involves opening your mind to magic before anything. From then on, you must hold the firm belief that you _can_ heal your body, and that it is something fully possible."

Izuku looked downwards, thoughts bouncing around his head. ' _But how do I know whether I actually believe that I can do this or if I'm just telling myself that I believe I can do this? And if I fail, then my doubts would even be reinforced further. Could there be a way to make sure? To go towards actually believing that my legs can be fixed?'_

A dark wave of thought blanketed his mind. ' _I've been told for the good part of a decade that my legs are incurable. Could that have manifested here? Would that affect whether I can pull this off? I believe in magic, that's for sure. But do I believe that I can do magic myself? Do I believe that my legs can be healed?'_

He clenched his fists, distinctly noticing his breathing starting to become faster. He also noticed the Ancient One, as enigmatic and mysterious as ever, sitting across the table in a meditative stance, looking like she believed _anything_ was possible, and looking down at him with an expression he couldn't discern.

"Perhaps another demonstration shall prove better for your psyche." she said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Clouds of doubt hang over your mind once more. I think I have the perfect way to rid your mind of those doubts."

Izuku snapped his eyes upwards, making eye contact with the woman. She smiled again before tossing him a single, golden ring engraved with strange looking symbols. Izuku quickly caught it with two hands, briefly taking time to admire the details of what the ring looked like.

' _It's beautiful,'_ he immediately thought. It looked distinctly familiar yet completely strange, radiating an aura of mysticism.

"Put it on," said the Ancient One. "I promise I'll explain what it is later, but I think it's best that I leave the explanations for afterwards, for the sake of this exercise."

' _Exercise? Is this some sort of test?'_

Taking a deep breath, Izuku fit the ring on his left index finger, the ring fitting almost perfectly with his fingers. In fact, he swore he noticed the ring _shift_ to accommodate for his finger size. ' _So it's a magical ring after all, huh? I wonder what it does...'_

"Now, lift up the arm with the ring on. Put it straight and forward, though try to avoid being too stiff with it. Relax your arms too." the Ancient One said. Izuku nodded, raising his right arm forward, palm facing to the front. The ring gleamed with golden light, a nonexistent light source reflecting off of it. ' _Another weird detail,'_ he absentmindedly noted with a small amount of glee. ' _This is really all so interesting!'_

"Good, now raise your other arm just a bit, and turn it in a wheel, just like this." continued the sorcerer, giving a demonstration with her own hands. With practiced ease, the woman's hand made a perfect circle in the air, her thumb, index finger and middle finger pointed forwards and the rest of her fingers enclosed into a fist.

Nodding his head, Izuku focused on his hand movements and started to imitate the demonstration he had just seen, his arm twirling in the air rather foolishly. ' _Is this supposed to be doing something? Maybe I'm not doing it well enough. She said relax, right? That could also mean I need to relax my mind, too.'_

Narrowing his eyes, he made his best efforts to clear his mind of whatever doubts that were there, relaxing his muscles.

And then, he _felt_ it. The same feeling that had coursed through him as he had floated through the strange, terrifying worlds. The same feeling that had coursed through him as the Ancient One seperated his consciousness from his physical body. The familiar energy surged through his limbs, and the strange _feeling_ that had dangled in front of him was back.

He closed his eyes, retreating to the depths of his mind to try and find that _thing_ again, and as the familiar presence seemed to greet him, he reached out to grasp it and _tugged._

And when he opened his eyes, a warm, flaming energy coursed through his body, and right in front of him was a triumphant cascade of sparks.

"Now," interrupted the Ancient One, "think of a location. Anywhere familiar is fine, you just have to know what it looks like."

Izuku thought of his room, filled to the brim with both All Might memorabilia and various science toys and tools, along with bookshelves filled with textbooks, notebooks and different superhero collectibles he had accumulated over the years. The image flashed to the forefront of his mind, and together with the spin of his hand, the sparks _expanded_ to reveal a hoop of flaming gold sparks, a view of his room directly inside the hoop.

Somehow, whatever doubts he had previously seemed to vanish just right then. ' _This is magic. I just- I just did magic! Magic!'_

He felt like laughing just from the sheer amount of _wonder_ he felt.

And then as soon as it began, the moment was over. A wave of exhaustion washed over his body and his arms collapsed back into the couch, the sparks disappearing immediately afterwards. Still, he felt almost euphoric. ' _This is real! This is possible! There really was a whole new world out there, one that we've never discovered!'_

Just the sheer absurdity of the situation made him giddy with both terror and awe. Him, a quirkless middle schooler, becoming a _magician_. Whether he became a hero or not, just _that_ thought alone was... it was something for sure. ' _And this wouldn't have been possible if not I accidentally stumbled onto this place... It's like I've been blessed with luck...'_

Drops of tears started to gather and leak out of his eyes, and Izuku forced himself to limit how much his face stretched while smiling. An emotion he couldn't discern filled his heart.

"Th- thank you," he stuttered out. "Thank you s- so much for giving me a chance like this."

He wasn't sure what _chance_ he exactly meant, but somehow the words felt just _right_. The Ancient One smiled, bowing her head.

"There is no thanks that I deserve, young one." she said. "What you've accomplished today, that is all due to your own efforts. The Sanctum chose you, and _only_ you. That's not a decision made lightly, and while I don't truly believe you would take pride in yourself for that, that is simply another mark of why you were chosen to enter this place."

"But, all that aside, I do believe you are owed an explanation as to what that was." she said. "What you did was use a sling ring. A sling ring is a tool that sorcerers use to open portals to anywhere in the world as long as we know what the location looks like. It's a rather nifty tool if I do say so myself. Although typically you would need a tremendous amount of intent to achieve what a sling ring does, the artifact takes care of that part for you, which is why it can respond so easily to nothing but physical motion."

"Oh!" Izuku piped up, his tears subsiding, "So it's like the difference between trying to build a lego kit on your own and following the instructions from the book!"

The Ancient One chuckled before nodding. "Interesting choice of analogy, but nonetheless valid. Either way, I'm sure you felt the tug of energy when you summoned that portal. Soon, tugging on that feeling, that energy, will become almost like second nature to you."

"And now," she continued, "seeing as we have established that you _can_ indeed cast magic, I believe it's time we started on your legs, no?"

Izuku immediately snapped his head upwards, wiping the tears from his eyes. A wave of determination washed over him, propelling his eagerness forward.

"I'll do my best!" he declared, trying his best impression of All Might's smile.

* * *

All in all, magic was _hard_. While using things like the sling ring was much easier, actually focusing the energy into doing something was _much_ harder. Still, Izuku had been trying his best through it all, and his efforts had yielded steady progress throughout the past few months. Not only were his legs getting better, the _pace_ in which they were getting better was getting faster as well.

Healing limbs was a rather complicated process. The Ancient One had told him that even a hundred years ago, fully healing disabled limbs would have taken decades. Magic after all didn't fully _heal_ limbs, it only guided the body in the right direction to grow back from severe injuries.

Izuku had never been more relieved that he had studied biology so extensively.

It was strange, feeling his senses come back to his legs little by little, his limp slowly but steadily improving. At least temporarily, he had diverted all of his focus onto his healing, restraining himself from learning too many new things in fear of getting distracted.

By the year had ended, Izuku had fully gained back the use of his legs. It felt rather anticlimactic after so long, but at the same time, he felt _giddy_.

On the same day his legs had been restored "by a miracle," he also told Tooru that he had gained a quirk.

Izuku had been deemed a freak medical case, a quirkless, crippled child that had recovered from his disability and had even gained a superpower to go along with it. _Energy Flow_ was what he had decided to call it, not revealing too many details on what his abilities actually were.

And so, Izuku's life seemed to be set to begin anew.

But in the end, it hadn't. Not yet. Instead, his true starting point would come a month later, wherein he would meet a scraggly looking blonde man in a park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it'll become noticeable here that this version of Izuku isn't perfectly representative of canon Izuku. However, I think the approach I'm going to take here is something not many people have done before. Either that or I need to read more fics. I CAN promise however that this version of Deku won't be overly stuttery, overly confident, overly edgy, overly depressed, or overly sarcastic. I do want to preserve the slightly nervous yet at the same time heroic and confident spirit that canon Deku possesses. Feel free to leave reviews and criticisms in the comments.


	3. Prologue (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final part of the prologue

**July 4'th, 20XX**

**Aldera Elementary School**

**The Past**

* * *

_"Stop it Kacchan!"_

_Izuku trembled in fear as he gazed upwards to look at his best friend, the blonde boy glaring back at him with a gaze that looked like it was ready to kill. Explosions popped out of his two hands, smoke rising from his palms._

_It was terrifying. Still, Izuku stood his ground. After all, what kind of hero would he be- no, what kind of person would he be if he simply stood by and let something like this happen? Determination filling his body with adrenaline, he twisted his face into the best smile he could manage._

_All Might smiled like that. And even though he would never be like All Might, never even be close to All Might, he could at least try, right?_

_"I won't let you do this!" he yelled, the words coming out of his mouth without thinking. "This isn't what a hero would do-"_ 'and you're going to be a great hero, Kacchan. But great heroes, heroes like All Might, they would never do something like this!'

 _The explosive fist that met his gut cut off his speech mid sentence, and he flew upwards for a brief moment before landing back in the sand with a pathetic flop._ 'Ouch,' _he immediately thought, followed by a wave of emotion that mixed both sadness and admiration._

'Kacchan is so strong. But he's so mean as well to some others... I wish he wasn't so mean.'

_"Deku..." Kacchan muttered ominously. "I hate that smile you always do."_

_Sparks gathered in his friend's hand, and Izuku already knew what was going to happen next._

_"It pisses me off!"_

_Kacchan threw his hand forward._

And the rest, as they say, was history.

* * *

**August 7'th, 20XX**

**Aldera Junior High, the same playground**

**Present Day, 9:30 P.M.**

* * *

"Deku."

It was strange.

"Kacchan."

Strange how he'd definitely heard Kacchan's voice before in the past few years. How he'd heard it during class and during recess when Kacchan talked to his friends. Still, ever since _that_ day, he had never quite _heard_ Kacchan's voice. Never heard it in the way that he now recognized. ' _No,_ ' Izuku thought. ' _In reality, I was never hearing Kacchan at all._ '

But now it was there. It was like Kacchan had disappeared as a wandering, out-of-body spirit for a few years, and now he was suddenly back inside his own body. And it wasn't just in the voice too. Posture, expression, _everything_. It had changed ever since he had walked into school without his familiar crutch.

"I saw the fucking scans. The old hag gave them to me." Kacchan _stated_ , like he was trying to impose something over him, though Izuku wasn't sure what exactly that was. "Your spine- your spine _broke_. It was completely fucking shattered in one spot."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, but I'm better now." he said earnestly.

Kacchan's eye twitched. For a brief moment, Izuku couldn't see the teenager he now knew as Katsuki Bakugo. Instead, his mind conjured up an angry child on the playground, explosions popping off from his hands.

But there were no explosions this time. No angry yells, no flaming fists that left him smoldering with burns and scratches.

"You're..." Kacchan started. "You're _better_. You're better."

"I am." Izuku nodded.

"That's it? That's fucking IT!?" Kacchan practically yelled. Izuku distinctly noticed the boy's arms starting to tremble, beads of sweat forming at the tips of his hair. "Holy fuck..." the blonde trailed off. "Fucking Deku."

Something inched from the back of Izuku's head to the forefront of his mind. A question. A question that begged him to be asked.

"What happened to you, Kacchan?" Izuku blurted out. ' _I... Something's changed with him. I'm still right in saying that Kacchan suddenly disappeared before re-appearing, but something's still changed. He's holding something back, but do I know what it is?'_

_'Does he know what it is?'_

"What the hell did you just say?" Kacchan said, a familiar anger building at the tips of his voice. "You- You-" he trailed off again, seemingly at a loss of words. Still contrary to the state of his voice, his eyes blazed with a fiery anger that Izuku knew was _dangerous_. After all, he had firsthand experience.

That night, Izuku had actually _talked_ to Kacchan for the first time since his spine had been broken. That night, not a single explosion had been detonated so far.

Izuku had a feeling that that was about to change.

Running towards him, Kacchan stretched his arms out towards him, the familiar scent of nitroglycerin filling the air. The sight almost made him nostalgic. It was a sight he had seen many times, one could even say _too many_.

Still, this time he was prepared.

Almost instinctually now, the sparks of eldritch magic flew through his veins, calling on his mind and spirit to sculpt the energy into the form he wanted. Izuku called on the magic, gathering the energy at his fingertips.

_'Shield of the Seraphim!'_

And the magic _exploded_ forward from his fingers, instantly materializing a glowing shield made from golden sparks out of thin air. It shuddered but held its form as an explosion detonated on it at point blank range, repelling the force and the flames.

Izuku sighed in relief. He had only recently started working on magic outside of his leg restoration. So naturally, he was all the more glad that his shield had been able to take the damage instead of shattering.

Kacchan's eyes widened in shock.

That was when Izuku remembered a very important detail. ' _Oh right, I haven't told anyone except Tooru and my mom that I technically have a 'quirk' now! That would mean that-'_

Kacchan landed a few meters in front of him, colliding roughly with the ground. For a brief moment, the blonde's face was filled with nothing but pure shock, plain and simple. Said shock was almost immediately replaced with anger.

"Deku, what the actual FUCK!?" Kacchan yelled. "Did you fucking lie to me for-"

Izuku, then and there, made an instantaneous gut decision.

Conjuring a portal beneath his feet, he quickly dropped into the safe comfort of his room, quickly closing the portal immediately afterwards before Kacchan could possibly follow him through. As he spun his arm in the reverse direction, the circle of sparks whirled shut.

That was when he curled up into a ball and shoved his head into his arms.

' _Why did I do that!? Why in the world did I have to do that? I ran away like a coward! Oh no, I should go back to him! I'm sure, there's something that I can still do! There's something that's still there! Something that he needs to say, something that I need to say!'_

Feeling the familiar weight of his sling ring on his index finger, he stretched his arm forward, willing himself to make the motions.

His arm stayed dead still.

' _Move! MOVE!'_

He sat as still as a rock for a good minute before he finally gave up, relaxing his arm and dropping it down. ' _Why couldn't I do that? My magic is there, I can feel it. There's something else that's keeping me from slinging myself back..._ '

That was when it hit him. A scenario that frankly he thought was impossible. A scenario he was absolutely _sure_ wasn't the case. But still, it was the only thing he could think of.

' _Do I not want to go back? Am I... mad at Kacchan?'_

* * *

Meanwhile, Katsuki Bakugo punched a wall in anger. Deku, his new powers, his weird recovery, _Deku_ irked him. And it was like a painfully large worm that had burrowed his way into his mind, a flaming wall of anger bigger than his largest explosions.

He growled. There was something on his mind. He wasn't sure what it was but it made him seriously pissed off.

The one thing he did know about it was that it had to do with Deku. Because of course _everything_ had to do with that damn nerd. Deku was the one who had his spine broken. Deku was the one who recovered miraculously. Deku was the one who had a quirk now.

Everything about the fucker pissed him off.

Katsuki detonated an explosion at the ground, scorching the sand of the playground.

Why did Deku have to be there all the time? Every time Katsuki could remember, that quirkless, _useless_ motherfucker was always there in his memories, like a parasite digging into his brain, consuming it bit by bit.

He detonated another explosion.

"Stupid-"

And another.

"Motherfucker!"

And another.

By the time he was done, the ground below the sand had been scorched.

Katsuki growled before standing up, sweat glistening at his palms. If he was lucky, maybe he could scorch some more sand without the old hag grounding him.

* * *

**A few days later**

* * *

Yagi Toshinori liked to jog. In his thin form, of course. With his All Might form he could cover miles worth of distance in a matter of seconds. But even when he was in his weaker body, he enjoyed keeping up with exercise. In a way, it was like a subtle reminder. A reminder that his time was coming and coming soon. A reminder that he desperately needed to find a successor.

And when that time came, Yagi refused to be a complete slump, unable to do anything physical whatsoever. So, Yagi liked to jog. It wasn't a particularly heavy physical activity- it sure as hell wasn't the training he had gone through during his early days- but it was exercise at the end of the day anyway. And it helped. In multiple ways.

He liked to go to the park to jog. There was an old lady there that he enjoyed greeting, along with a family that waved hello when they saw him. The park was just generally a happy place to be in, where everybody there would- just for a while- abandon their problems and worries and simply enjoy the fresh air and nature.

So when he saw a green haired boy there looking _way_ more concerned about something than anyone his age had any right to be, he naturally jogged straight towards him. But when the boy's eyes snapped open wide as Yagi approached his direction, Toshinori decided to slow down.

It was then that he realized that he was _not_ in his All Might form and that trying to help a random stranger would most likely come off as creepy.

Still, his master had once told him that meddling was the essence of being a hero, and Toshinori had since long ago decided to live his life by those words.

"What's got you looking so down, young man?" he asked. The boy looked up at him, and that was when Toshinori realized that his eyes were glowing with a golden orange light. _A quirk, maybe? I suppose quirks that make your eyes glow aren't rare, but..._

"ARE YOU OK?!" the boy suddenly exclaimed, completely brushing past the question and erasing Toshinori's line of thought. Toshinori flinched. He was quite aware that he didn't look his absolute best in his thin form, but well... that was the first time he had gotten such a _visceral_ reaction from someone.

Immediately afterwards though, the boy's eyes dimmed, returning to a forest green, and the boy bent down 90 degrees in a bow.

Toshinori blinked, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do here.

"Sorry!" the boy exclaimed. "I was j- just testing a spe- aspect of my quirk! It lets me sense weak spots in architecture but I didn't knowthatitwouldalsoletmelookatweakspotsinhumanstooandyouhavethishugeinjuryonyour-"

Toshinori raised a hand up, feeling an oncoming migraine from trying to understand the rapid talking boy. "Slow down, kid! I can't understand you if you talk so fast!" he said. Almost as quick as he could talk, the boy shut his mouth, clasping a hand over it.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed. "So what I was saying was that I was testing my quirk on sensing architecture damage but I ended up looking at you and you have a huge wound on your chest!" he said. ' _Ah,'_ Toshinori thought. ' _So he wasn't disgusted at how I look, but he saw the wound on my chest?'_

Toshinori waved a hand, raising it towards the air. "It's fine," he said. "I got my injury a while ago in an accident. You said your quirk was sensing architecture damage? You know that a park is still considered a public area, right?" he added towards the end. While his quirk seemed harmless, the law was still the law.

"Sorry!" the boy sputtered out. "But that building there's the only building I can really... use my quirk on, I guess. And you too now, I guess, although I'll probablyhavetoinvestigatehowthatworkslateron..."

"Hm," Toshinori hummed. "What did you say your name was, young man?"

"Oh, I didn't!" the boy exclaimed cheerfully before bowing enthusiastically. "My name is Midoriya Izuku, sorry I didn't say so earlier!"

Toshinori laughed. ' _Kids these days really are full of energy, huh?'_ "No need to apologize, young man. You can call me Mr. Yagi if you want." he said. Midoriya Izuku grinned in response, nodding thankfully. "Oh!" Toshinori added. "Right, I was about to ask this further before you noticed me, but what had you looking so down, Midoriya?"

Midoriya suddenly frowned. "I'm trying to do something with my quirk, and I _know_ I can do it but I can't seem to figure out how." he said. ' _Ah,_ ' Toshinori thought. ' _I'm assuming his quirk runs a bit deeper than simply scanning architecture, then?'_

"Well," Toshinori began. "What exactly is your quirk?"

Midoriya rubbed the back of his head, awkwardly shuffling. "Erm..." he started before pausing for a good 3 seconds. "It's complicated." he then said. "Let's just say that the part of my quirk I'm working on is something that can fix things. Big things, mostly."

"Hm..." Toshinori hummed. He was no quirk expert by any means, but after decades of fighting villains and experiencing the thick and thin of dangerous quirks, he liked to think that he had at least a somewhat decent grasp of how they could be worked on. "How are you trying it now?"

"Well..." Midoriya began. "I can sense the cracks and everything. And I can sense what I need to fix them. Things like..."

And then the boy began muttering off, quickly spitting out pieces of scientific terminology that Toshinori frankly had no idea how to make sense of. Still, after a brief moment the kid came to an extremely sudden stop, his eyes widening as if he had made a revolutionary discovery.

"That's it!" Midoriya exclaimed. "It's All Might!"

Toshinori's positively _froze_. "...What?" he finally managed to say, the boy turning towards him enthusiastically.

"You reminded me of him, mister Yagi. You have his hair! Just more... dangly..." the boy said, making a rather comical gesture with his fingers to show the "hair horns" that Toshinori sported in his All Might form. Immediately, he exhaled in relief. ' _Gee, what am I getting scared of? There's no way this kid could have know I was All Might! Snap out of it, Toshinori!'_

The boy continued. "When I was young, I had an All Might figurine that broke and I was really sad about it!" he said. ' _Eh?'_ "But when it broke, I wasn't thinking of the scientific compounds that made the figurine! I just wanted it to be unbroken again!"

Toshinori couldn't help but stare at the strange boy. ' _That's certainly... one way to put it, I suppose.'_

"That was the key!" Midoriya finally concluded. "I'm looking from the bottom up when I have to approach it from the top! Like judging a book by it's cover!"

And then suddenly, Midoriya's eyes _glowed_ again, except this time, a runed circle made of golden sparks surrounded his arms, spinning wildly as the teenager made strange, but- Toshinori had to admit- cool looking gestures. Almost like he was a wizard from a fantasy movie.

"By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!" Midoriya chanted. ' _Huh? So he's... chanting like a fantasy character as well?'_

Still, Midoriya apparently wasn't one to fool around. Following a strange gathering of energy surrounding his arm, Toshinori stared in wonder as the building Midoriya had seemingly focused on completely repaired itself, the rust and cracks and instabilities disappearing completely.

It was an abandoned building, but still, Toshinori had to admit that Midoriya had a mighty useful quirk. One that could propel the boy to be a rescue hero one day.

That was when the two of them both realized that they had technically broken the law. Immediately, Midoriya buckled over, covering his face with his hands. "Ohmygod oh no nonono!" the boy bemoaned. "Did anyone see that? I got way too excited with-"

Toshinori quickly held up a finger. "I don't think anyone saw you use your quirk, young Midoriya. It's fine." he said. While he did feel guilty to some degree for not scolding the boy more, it was partly his fault as well, and besides, kids had always used their quirks in public areas. It was considered a normal thing to do by now.

After a brief exhale, Midoriya seemingly calmed himself down, before immediately brightening back up. "Still, this helps me out so much!" said the boy. "There are so many opportunities, so many _derivatives_ that I can get from this, and it'll help me out in other aspects of my ma- quirk as well!"

This time, Toshinori karate chopped the boy's back.

"Alright," he said. "I'm glad you're enthusiastic, young Midoriya. But for now, let's try and avoid breaking the law again."

The boy flushed in embarrassment as he nodded. "Sorry! It's just that it finally feels like I really _have_ a quirk and I'm getting overexcited..."

' _Have a quirk?'_ Toshinori questioned. ' _What could something like that mean? Or maybe it's just an offhand statement...'_

Still, he filed the comment in the back of his mind in case he saw the boy again someday.

And he did so for the better, considering Midoriya Izuku would soon become a jogging partner.

* * *

Throughout his months of jogging with Midoriya every other morning, Toshinori managed to learn a good amount about the boy. For one, he had been initially diagnosed quirkless before manifesting a quirk during middle school, which was late even by the standards of late bloomers.

Second, the boy had trained to be a doctor, which explained the scientific jargon he had spouted on the first day. Before that, apparently he had dreamed of being a hero. Still, whenever the boy talked about being a doctor, there was a strange hint of emotion in his voice that Toshinori could never recognize.

And finally, the boy was _strange_. He mumbled often, spat out strange words that Toshinori had no idea how to understand, and laughed at the oddest jokes while displaying uncanny amounts of enthusiasm for just about _anything_ that interested him. Toshinori had met fans before, but before meeting Midoriya Izuku, he had never met a _fan_.

Trivia? Theories? Jokes and gags and figurines and posters and books? Midoriya Izuku had 'em _all_.

It was... honestly kind of disturbing.

Still, if anything the boy was interesting to talk to. Toshinori had often ended up finding his morning jogs as some of his day's highlights. Frankly, with the boy's mighty useful quirk, witty mind and hopeful sense of optimism, Toshinori thought it was a shame that the boy wasn't aiming to be a rescue hero, but that was something he had gotten over quickly. Midoriya Izuku was his own person after all.

So it was stranger than ever that today, Midoriya Izuku seemed so interested in the topic of heroism, and heroism as a _career_ , not just as something to fanboy about.

"Mister Yagi," Midoriya suddenly said, sitting down on a bench for a short break, interrupting Toshinori's line of thought. Raising his eyebrows, Toshinori turned towards the younger boy. "What do you think heroes feel like?" Midoriya asked. "Sorry to ask you and everything, but you seemed so knowledgeable on All Might that-"

Toshinori raised a hand, chuckling. "It's fine, young Midoriya." he said, before furrowing his eyebrows in thought. "What do heroes feel like...?"

Images flashed to the forefront of his mind. Images of rescuing civilians and fighting villains, of sleeping fitfully with the assurance that he was making a _difference._ And... images of loss. Of unstoppable villains, life threatening injuries and- and _dead mentors_.

"Scared." Toshinori finally said. "I would say they feel scared, young Midoriya. Why do you ask?"

"I just-" Midoriya trailed off, giving off a rare frown. "I think I can understand that. But why do heroes _be_ heroes? There's gotta be a reason, right? I want to save lives, mister Yagi. And heroes want to save lives too! But what makes heroes be heroes and not doctors? What makes doctors be doctors and not heroes?" Midoriya ranted.

Toshinori paused, taking in the statement. "...I think you've given the question a lot of thought, young Midoriya. But in the end, everybody's reason is different. Some people, sad as it is, enter the industry for fame and money. Some people for glory. Some people because it's the only job they can do."

Midoriya opened his mouth to speak before hesitating and closing it again. Finally, after a brief moment he began. "...I want to be a hero." he said, and Toshinori's eyes slightly widened. "I think. I don't know why, though. I just... I want to be a hero." he repeated.

Frankly, Toshinori wasn't sure what he was supposed to say here. ' _Should I...?'_

He sighed. ' _Yeah, it's not like he'll make the connection anyway.'_

"Young Midoriya." he said, the boy looking at him with curiosity. "I actually have a bit of a secret. Back when I was younger, I once met All Might and asked this exact question."

Midoriya lit up. Immediately, the boy was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes enthusiastically curious. "W- What did he say?" he asked with a hint of desperation inching its way into his voice. Toshinori chuckled.

"Well, back before All Might came along, the crime rate in Japan was... high. Very high. All Might thought that that it was because the people didn't have a symbol. A pillar to rely on." Toshinori said, the answer coming to his head surprisingly easily. "So he ran. All Might wanted to save lives, but he also wanted to become a symbol. So that even when he wasn't on the streets helping people-"

"-lives were still being saved..." Midoriya finished for him, the boy's eyes gleaming with admiration. "That's... that's amazing! It's so incredible, just like All Might is!" he said, before narrowing his eyes in thought, pausing for good amount of time.

"...I think I know what to do now, mister Yagi." Midoriya said. "I'm... I'm still not sure, but now I have something to go off of. Now I know that something _exists_. And I'm going to try and find it!"

Toshinori nodded. _'So, he's going to heroics after all?'_ he pondered. That was good. Toshinori was honestly happy for the boy, although he did sound slightly conflicted at the current moment.

"Good luck, young Midoriya." Toshinori said. Midoriya beamed.

"No, thank you, mister Yagi!" he said, smiling in a way that Toshinori had never seen him smile before. He looked optimistic. Hopeful. Determined. In many ways, the boy had always smiled like that, but this time there was something different that was just _there_. ' _Something that he hasn't found out, something that I haven't found out, but something that's there, huh?'_

In the end, Toshinori concluded that above all else, Midoriya Izuku smiled like a hero.

* * *

At the end of school, Izuku handed in the paper that he had very recently modified. As he passed it to the school's principal, the man looked at it briefly before setting it down and giving Izuku a strange, yet not quite hostile look. Honestly, it was an understandable reaction, or at least that was what Izuku personally thought.

After all, the paper was... well, different from what he had originally intended.

As the paper was filed into a folder, Izuku had one last look at his admissions document, feeling a weight being lifted off him as his decision became formally finalized. The lettering looked weird because of its boldness, but Izuku quite liked it. The fact that it was written that way gave him a sense of solidity, a sense that he had the confidence to proceed forward.

Said text was on the top of the document, indicating his first choice of high school as "U.A. High School, Heroics Course."

He would become a hero. And he would find out just exactly _what_ kind of hero he was going to be.

Izuku Midoriya smiled as he exited the school office, gently closing the door behind him as he walked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya there, thanks for reading once again, and I would always love it a ton if you could leave a comment on... well, anything. Questions, criticisms, anything is appreciated. :)
> 
> Other than that, nothing to say. I hope you enjoyed reading, and thanks for bothering to check this out!


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